Pursuing CSI justice for European citizens.
The European Court of Justice has ruled the UK’s requirement for Comprehensive Sickness Insurance (CSI) unlawful.
The European Court of Justice has ruled the UK’s requirement for Comprehensive Sickness Insurance (CSI) unlawful.
First published: May 2022.
Xtra | What is CSI?
EU Free Movement law states people can move to other EU member states to live, work and study. However, if they are studying or self-sufficient, they need CSI to not be a burden on a country’s healthcare system.
Most EU member states have insurance-based healthcare systems, requiring both nationals of that state and immigrants to hold insurance policies to access healthcare.
However, the UK’s NHS is funded from general taxation (including VAT paid by everyone) and as such EU citizens living in the UK have been able to use the NHS on an equal footing with British citizens without the need for insurance.
Despite this, and the significant contributions made by many, the Home Office has required EU citizens to hold CSI to live in the UK in accordance with EU laws.
(Source: the3million/CSI Justice)
We are now reaching out to seek justice for people affected by this requirement throughout the years. We are looking to support people in exploring options and seeking restitution for the injustice they have suffered.
Comprehensive Sickness Insurance was wrongly required in the UK. EU Free Movement law states people can move to other EU member states to live, work and study. If they are studying or self-sufficient, they need CSI to not be a burden on a country’s healthcare system.
The European Court of Justice judgment, however, sets out that the UK should have accepted that access to the National Health Service is in itself sufficient to meet the requirement for CSI.
the3million/CSI Justice
This requirement affected students, self-sufficient parents with caring responsibilities, people with punctuated work histories and family members of EU citizens. We are looking to organise and together with a network of lawyers, campaigners and others in solidarity, seek justice.
If you have been personally affected by a lack of CSI, or if you have worked with people who have been affected by it, please do get in touch.
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— AUTHORS —▫ the3million, the largest group of EU citizens in the UK. 📧 ▪ Follow our Twitter account: @the3million ▪ Like our Facebook page: facebook.com/the3million/ ▪ Join the conversation with over 45,000 fellow EU citizens in the Facebook Forum for EU citizens: facebook.com/groups/Forum4EUcitizens/ ▪ Sign up to receive the3million newsletter in your inbox at: the3million.org.uk/subscribe |
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Going Further:
- UK wrongly insisted on Comprehensive Sickness Insurance for years, EU court finds | Free Movement
- CSI Justice campaign
Sources
- Text: This piece was originally published in the3million newsletter and re-published in PMP Magazine on 8 May 2022, with the author’s consent. | The author writes in a personal capacity.
- Cover: Flickr/Gwenael Piaser. - European Court of Justice. (Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.)
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